The Dachshund Breed Council are asking dachshunds and their owners to take part in DachsLife 2015  which asks owners about how they rear, feed and exercise their dogs, as well as reporting on any back disease. The survey has been developed with the support of the Royal Veterinary College.

So of course, I was happy to fill in the survey for both Alan & I…

The survey  assists The Breed Council to find out if any part of a dog’s lifestyle contribute to IVDD (Back Disease) in us Dachshunds. This is being used to support the research they are doing in conjunction with the Royal Veterinary College.

The survey is primarily for UK-based Dachshund owners, but they are happy to receive responses from owners outside the UK, particularly if your dog was bred in the UK.

Mum said it was probably a good idea that I swat-up before taking part… as if I didn’t know all about dachshunds already!

But we needed Mum to take all our vital measurements so I could input them, getting Alan to stand still was slightly tricky…

If you have more than one dog please complete a separate survey for each of them . To get you organised, the questions cover:

• Details of your Dachshund (live dogs only)
• Any history of, or treatment for, IVDD (Back Disease)
• How your Dachshund spends its day (me – sleeping)
• Exercise (me – a stroll around the park)
• Diet (me – steak, if only!!)
• Any other health issues

Please make sure you know your dog’s weight (in KG) and have a tape measure (in cm) to complete how long and tall he/she is before you start the survey.

But don’t worry, all responses will be confidential and all results will be presented anonymously. No owners or dogs will be identifiable from the reports produced.

And if me trying to convince you take part wasn’t enough, courtesy of the Kennel Club, The Breed Council have two pairs of day passes for Crufts 2015. To win these tickets, you need to be a UK Dachshund owner and complete the Breed Council’s DachsLife 2015 breed lifestyle survey. Two lucky owners will be randomly selected from the survey’s UK respondents at 6 p.m. on Saturday 21st February 2015. You’ll need to leave your e-mail address at the end of the survey so they can contact you and get a postal address to send the tickets to – paws crossed!

So please take part HERE, it will only take up 10 minutes of your day and it will really help The Dachshund Breed Council, I’m sure your sausage dog won’t mind standing still for 2 minutes to be measured, as long as you give them a Bonio!

Dach’s all for now – go get your tape measure!

Jeffrey x